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Friday, April 30, 2010

GAME DAY2010 President Cup FinalGame One: Moncton Wildcats vs Saint John Sea DogsFriday, April 30, 2010 at 7:30 pmHarbour Station

SERIES STATUSThis is the first game of the best-of-seven series.

PRE-GAME PREVIEWFour years ago the Moncton Wildcats were on their way to a President's Cup championship. 90 minutes down the road, the expansion Saint John Sea Dogs were already golfing for over a month.

But now, the two archrivals have both built up a championship contending team. The journey for both squads continues tonight at 7:30 pm in game one of the President's Cup Final.

"There's going to be a lot at stake, but the way we look at it, we're just going to play another game," said Saint John head coach Gerard Gallant to Rogers Sportsnet. "We're hoping we come out on top, but it's just another hockey game."

"I think regardless of where you're from, you would feel the emotion of the building in this series," Wildcats head coach Danny Flynn said. "This series will receive heavy focus not only in New Brunswick, but in all of Atlantic Canada."

The all-New Brunswick battle is one of the hottest tickets in the provinces history, with over 25,000 tickets being sold in 24 hours.

It will be a series to remember. A matchup where friends, families, companies, and even municipal governments are all getting in on the Rivalry.

Whether the series will be (as the kids say) “epic” or a colossal bust will be known in the next two weeks. But either way, history will be made in the all-Atlantic rumble.

CRAZY FACTMoncton is 25-7-2-6 lifetime versus Saint John in the regular season. They've never met in the playoffs. Saint John has just seven regulation time wins in 40 lifetime games between these clubs. What's more, the Sea Dogs haven't managed a regulation time win against the Wildcats in their past 16 meetings.

SAINT JOHN LINEUP NOTESNicholas Pard has missed the last two games with a bruised foot. He suffered the injury last Friday in Victoriaville after taking a Pierre Durepos shot in the skate.

Kevin Gagne did not travel with the team to Victoriaville last week because of a knee injury. The 17-year old has not played since game five of the opening round.

Steven Anthony is questionable with a groin injury.

COMING IN HOTA look at both teams last round playoff series (courtesy of the Sea Dogs Bell Aliant Playoff Report):

WHITE-OUTThe first 5,000 fans attending Friday's series-opener will receive a free white Sea Dogs President's Cup Finals t-shirt courtesy of FibreOP from Bell Aliant (3,000 size L, 2,000 size XL - given away on a first come, first serve basis). All spectators are encouraged to wear white shirts, jerseys, etc. to Game 1 as a sign of support for the Port City's major junior squad.

PACKED HOUSEThis game has been sold-out since Wednesday afternoon. Games two and four in Moncton are also sold-out as well as game three Tuesday in Saint John.

If you have tickets that you are looking to dump, visit Kijiji Saint John.

T-J SUPPORTSea Dogs signs will be given out in today’s Telegraph-Journal. Fans are encouraged to put the signs in their window or bring it to the game.

IS DESCHAMPS GOOD TO GO?The Wildcats could be without their leading scorer tonight. Nicolas Deschamps, who was tied for the league scoring lead with 96 points this season, hurt his ankle in game five against Drummondville last Friday.

"(Deschamps) is day-to-day," said Moncton head coach Danny Flynn to the Times & Transcripton Monday. "He had a preliminary examination (on Sunday). The doctor is going to wait a couple of days and re-examine him probably on Tuesday or Wednesday. He's still on crutches.

"He has a high ankle sprain. He got stood up with a clean open-ice hit, then came down and landed awkwardly on his ankle. We're just waiting to find out the extent of his injury.''

KABANOV A NO-SHOWDon’t expect to see Kirill Kabanov on the ice for the ‘Cats tonight. The highly touted Russian was reportedly headed back to Moncton after being tossed off a team in his home country.

“Last year, it was crazy,” Hoffman said of the atmosphere in the seven-game Drummondville-Shawinigan series to the Kitchener-Waterloo Record.

“This year, it should be close to that.”

The article is written by Jeff Hicks whose blog, “Rangers Rap,” has easily some of the worst jokes around.

BIG TIME STUFFThis series is being called by many the biggest hockey series in New Brunswick history.

"It's shaping up to be maybe the biggest series in the history of hockey in New Brunswick," the Wildcats' head coach Danny Flynn toldRogers Sportsnet. "There's an enormous amount of excitement in every corner of the province."

LONG ROAD TO THE FINALFor the young Sea Dogs, many of its players have never ran such a long marathon in their brief hockey careers.

"It's the longest schedule I've played," said Zach Phillips to the Daily Gleaner. "Last year, I played 30 something games. This year, I'm up to around 70 (80 and counting, actually). It's hard, but we all stretch regularly, we have a great training staff that knows their stuff...we're staying as fresh as we can."

"If we can stick to our structure and shut them down and let our offensive guys do their work, we should be fine."

THE RINKVenue: Harbour StationCapacity: 6,297Playoff Average Attendance: 4,375Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,140

Thursday, April 29, 2010

We are now less than 24 hours to puck at Harbour Station in game one of the President Cup Final.

With the QMJHL’s Holy Grail up for grabs, several publications and members of the media have released their predictions for the epic series between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats.

Also, we have some bets listed that have been made between fans of the New Brunswick rivals.

BETSShaun McKenzie and Dan Ahlstrand vs Tom Young and Tyler McLean

Side bet on Dogs and Cats series... When the Cats win - Tom and Tyler shave their heads - If Dogs win Dan and I shave our heads (Shaun Mackenzie)

Ivan Court vs George LeBlanc

Mayor Ivan Court and Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc have already begun the municipal trash talking. The pair have bet a dinner for two, a case of Molson or Moosehead beer - Molson has a brewery in Moncton and Saint John is home to Moosehead. Wearing the other team's jersey and the loser shining the winning mayor's shoes are also part of the wager. (Telegraph-Journal)

PREDICTIONS

Staff – Station NationSaint John in 7

Better team, better city, better fans. Enough said.

But in all seriousness though, Saint John has a lot of depth through their lineup, especially on the offensive attack. The league’s best offense against the league’s best defense is sure to go down as an epic battle.

So trying to make predictions when you have two excellent teams like Moncton and Saint John facing each other in the QMJHL President Cup final isn’t an easy task. And as predictions are made to be beaten, let’s go with Moncton in six even if the series will begins in Saint John, giving a slight edge in goal to the Wildcats.

Les Stoodley – News 91.9Moncton in 6 or 7

Look for a six of seven game series. Look for great goaltending with Riopel and Cousineau giving us thrills by the dozen, look for edge of your seat, nail biting, heart stop action from both New Brunswick teams. I can’t wait to call a second Wildcats Presidents Cup win.

They should have done it in 4. Taking so long well proves that they may not have the steam left that Moncton clearly has in them. This next series will be much more than interesting as the Sea Dogs will give it everything they have left and will not go quietly in the dark.

Well, based on my logic, I’m going to give the edge to the Wildcats. As much as I love Sauve, Despres and the rest of Saint John’s terrific defensive corps, I like Moncton’s better. I really hate to bet against the Sea Dogs because they are an outstanding team and I didn’t arrive at this prediction without considerable deliberation.

You can make an argument that goaltending is equal and Saint John has a little edge offensively. But Moncton is an older and more experienced club, it has a much stronger defence corps and in the end this should prove to be the difference in a hard-fought series.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League today announced that Rogers TV will be broadcasting games two and four of the Presidents Cup Final live from the Moncton Coliseum.

"We are very happy to have the opportunity to offer our fans games two and four of this historic series on local television," said the Commissioner of the QMJHL, Gilles Courteau in a release. "These two broadcasts would not have been possible without the valued cooperation of our major partner, TELUS, and the Moncton Wildcats organization."

Rumors began to fly over a week that Rogers TV in New Brunswick would be broadcasting the series with all-games being held in their territory. But unfortunately for fans without tickets to games at Harbour Station, they are still out of luck.

Most knew that Presidents Cup tickets would go fast, but mamy did not predict this quickly.

24 hours after tickets were released, games one through four of the Saint John Sea Dogs - Moncton Wildcats showdown are officially sold-out.

Saint John announced that they sold-out yesterday for both games one and three in a matter of hours. The Wildcats announced this afternoon that games two and four at the Coliseum are gone and tickets to game six are already limited.

Wildcats general manager Bill Schurman said in today’s Times & Transcriptthat he is not surprised over the strong fan support.

"I'm not surprised at all. We've had a great draw in Saint John all season long. We sold out two regular season games with the Sea Dogs in attendance and this series has been anticipated for months now. People are chomping at the bit to be a part of this."

For those without tickets, there is still hope.

“Wildcats General Manager Bill Schurman says there is also a possibility some reserve tickets may be freed up by Saturday, so stay tuned,” reports News 91.9 about Sunday's game at the Cage.

The popular site Kijiji has also been buzzing over both selling and buying tickets.

“(the tickets are gone) That is, unless you're willing to pay an arm and a leg for them on sites like Kijiji,” said the Moncton radio station.

There is already over dozen requests on Kijiji Saint John looking for tickets to game one and/or three.

There is also the long shot of winning a radio contest as CBC Radio’s Information Morning has been giving away some tickets.

If all else fails, we suggest standing around in the Harbour Station lobby before game time and hope for the best.

"The response has just been overwhelming here. The lineup at the box office (yesterday morning) was ridiculous," said Sea Dogs marketing and communications manager Rick Bowness Jr.

"Everybody over here is really optimistic. Both teams are playing well and they can't wait to get this started. It should be rocking here."

Fans attending Friday's game at Harbour Station are reminded to wear white.

On an off topic note, there is also a job offering on Kijiji as “Executive Director - Saint John Sea Dogs Foundation.”

Saint John Sea Dogs forward Steven Anthony is “questionable” for the first game of the Presidents Cup Final on Friday at Harbour Station.

“We’re hoping to have him ready, but we’re not 100 per cent sure yet,” Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said to Metro Halifax.

“We definitely won’t push him, but Steven’s a big part of our team,” Gallant said. “We’d obviously like to have him back to that but it’s not going to happen in one game.”

Anthony has played in only four of the Sea Dogs’ 15 playoff games because of a nagging groin injury. He has not played since game two of the semi-finals against Victoriaville. The third year Sea Dog has been held pointless in his short stint of action.

The Vancouver Canucks draft pick had 18 goals and 23 assists in the regular season while playing in 61 games.

Also on the shelf for most of the playoffs has been Kevin Gagne, who is still nursing a knee injury.Forward Nicholas Pard was sidelined for game five and six of the semi-finals after blocking a shot with his foot.

Replacing the three have been forwards Will Johnston, Chuckie Schembri, and defenseman Gabriel Bourret.

Schembri, a QMJHL castoff before being picked-up by the Dogs, was plastered on the front of the Telegraph-Journaltoday.

"There have been a lot of ups and downs,” said Schembri, “and at one point I almost gave up.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

DOGS WILL BE 'COMPENSATED'In an article toady about the funky schedule for the league final, the Telegraph-Journalreports that the Sea Dogs franchise will be compensated for what should have been a Saturday night game at Harbour Station.

Still, Long admits having at least one Saturday night game guaranteed would have been his first choice, adding the league will "compensate'' the club for having to settle for the missed revenue opportunity.

"We're not angry or bitter,'' Long said. "To be fair to Moncton, they're not doing this intentionally to thwart us or screw things up.

It only took 11 hours to create the schedule.

One sponser does seem upset though, as Roger Haineault of Help 4 Taxes went on a mild rant on The Afternoon News With Tom Young. Haineault said that Long should not have been as tame when creating a compromise with the Wildcats.

NB FINAL ON ROGERS?Speculation continues to mount over whether or not the Presidents Cup Final will be broadcast throughout New Brunswick on Rogers Cable.

Scott Jackson, regional station manager for Rogers TV, confirmed Thursday to the Telegraph-Journal that he is in discussions about the possibility of broadcasting the series across the province.

With both games one and three sold-out and the others on their way, fans will now need a place to watch the games away from the rink.

Rogers will likely need to put up a pretty penny to host the games, with Telus forcing fans to pay an exuberant amount of dough to watch them online.

CHARLAND COMMITS TO MONCTONFormer Sea Dog forward Kevin Charland (pictured) has signed with the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus for the upcoming season.

Guérette-Charland, a 6-foot, 190-pound left winger from Victoriaville, Que., played four and a half seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Victoriaville Tigres, Saint John Sea Dogs, Val-d'Or Foreurs and Gatineau Olympiques. Guérette-Charland, a first-round pick in the 2005 QMJHL draft, recorded 167 points in 302 regular-season games. He was traded from Val-d'Or to Gatineau last December and played in three games for the Olympiques before leaving to join the Princeville Titan of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League for the rest of the season. He posted 30 points in 17 games for Princeville.

"He's a good sniper and can put points on the board,” said Moncton head coach Serge Bourgeois to the Times & Transcript. “He's one of those players that you might not see all game, but he'll end up with a couple goals and a couple points.”

GAUTHIER’S DADAs it turns out, Dancik Gauthier’s father played for the Victoriaville Tigres back in the day. To read a French article on the Gauthier family, click HERE.

MORE NB FINAL STUFFLast Friday, Willy Palov of the Chronicle Herald had an article on what was the-yet-to-be-determined Battle of New Brunswick. He had some solid lines like:

I would love for the owners to have some fun with it and make a good-humoured wager on the series. Maybe the Irvings could offer a free tank of gas if the Sea Dogs win and the McCains could send a case of frozen french fries to Moncton if the Wildcats win.

DIDO IS DONEChris DiDomenico has completed his junior career with 75 post-season points in only 43 games. He is ranked 28th, tied with Frédéric Bouchard, in the history of the QMJHL. He played in his last game in the QMJHL last Friday, in a 4-2 loss against Moncton in the semi-final series.

THE GLASS GOES BOOMIn an interview with Tim Roszell on Saturday in Victoriaville, Mike Hoffman spoke about his glass shattering performance the day before at Colisee Desjardins.

Hoffman, who has one of the best shots in the country, said that he did not expect the glass to break nor was it his hardest shot. Surprisingly, the 20-year old stated that this was the first time he had the broken a sheet in his career.

JACQUES MOVING ON?London Knights Head Coach Dale Hunter may or may not be headed for the NHL this season. But according to London Free Presscolumnist Morris Dalla Costa, his assistant and former Sea Dogs head coach Jacques Beaulieu may be on the move.

For instance, Knights assistant coach Jacques Beaulieu is good enough to be a head coach somewhere else. His work two years ago in Saint John with the Sea Dogs is now paying dividends for the QMJHL team. They advanced to the league final on Monday.

Beaulieu will get calls from other teams.

BLOG FROM THE BOOTHLes Stoodley, who does play-by-play for the Moncton Wildcats, had a post on his blog this week about the upcoming final.

Look for a six of seven game series. Look for great goaltending with Riopel and Cousineau giving us thrills by the dozen, look for edge of your seat, nail biting, heart stop action from both New Brunswick teams. I can’t wait to call a second Wildcats Preisents Cup win.

Solid post, even if he does call Gerard Gallant, “Gerald.”

HYNES SPEAKS ON THE SERIESVictoriaville Tigres forward Brandon Hynes spoke about his playoff series against the Saint John Sea Dogs today in the Western Star.

“They were first place and scored the most goals in the league and they showed exactly why,” said Hynes. “We needed to have better starts and we knew that. You could watch a tape from every game of the series and whichever team had the best start won the game.

“When they hopped out to a 3-0 lead in Game 6 it just plays on your mind ... you’re far away from home, their fans are all there ... it was too big of a mountain to climb,” he added. “We probably should’ve thought it was possible, but I think we just wanted to play for the team then.”

In only a matter of hours, game one of the Presidents Cup Final was sold-out.

“Over 100 people showed up this morning when the Harbour Station Box Office opened at ten to secure their seat,” reports CHSJ News.

By 11:00 am, only one hour after the box office opened, tickets were already limited for the Saint John Sea Dogs – Moncton Wildcats showdown. By 2:00 pm, the game was officially boughT out, making it the fastest sell-out in team history.

Game three of the series in Saint John on Tuesday also sold-out by 4:30 pm.

“We’re thrilled that hockey fans throughout southern New Brunswick are as excited about the Saint John – Moncton championship series as we are,” said team president Wayne Long in a release. “The demand at the Harbour Station Box Office this morning for our official on sale was truly overwhelming and we can’t wait to get things started on Friday night right here in the Port City.”

There were the obvious difficulties that comes with high demand at the Station box office. But, other than a virtual waiting room, the rinks website did not fail this time around.

Many fans were left on the outside looking in. There is already one post on Kijiji looking for tickets.

There have been only two previous sell-outs in Sea Dogs playoff history. Both of those games were in the 2008 quarter-final showdown against Bathurst.

The last sell-out at Harbour Station came against Halifax in the final game of the regular season this past year.

The first 5,000 fans attending Friday’s series-opener will receive a free white Sea Dogs President’s Cup Finals t-shirt courtesy of FibreOP from Bell Aliant (3,000 size L, 2,000 size XL – given away on a first come, first serve basis). All spectators are encouraged to wear white shirts, jerseys, etc. to Game 1 as a sign of support for the Port City’s major junior squad.

LISTENNews 91.9/News 88.9’s "The Drive" will be hosting a contest tomorrow at 4:30 pm to try and create an unofficial name for the series. It is a phone in show, so try and think of some ideas that are not “Battle of New Brunswick.”

The show, hosted by Dan Ahlstrand, will be an essential source throughout the next week.

WHAT?The radio station K100 is apparently holding a big contest on Friday night. Many people on Twitter are asking the station to rescheduled the contest to a later date because of the game.

The format abides from the typical 2-2-1-1-1 format that would normally be used in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final. Because of booking issues at the Moncton Coliseum, game dates next week at the Cage were unavailable, forcing the two teams to compromise with the 1-1-1-1-1-1-1.

News broke this morning that the Coliseum’s bookage problems had not been solved. Home games for the ‘Cats may have had to have been taken to an alternate venue if the two could not come to a compromise that also followed league guidelines.

The Wildcats have building availability issues at the Moncton Coliseum and want to work around it by alternating between the cities after each game. If they don't get their wish, they will likely have to find a different venue and that could mean moving home games to Halifax.

The QMJHL will listen to both clubs make their case and then make a ruling on the series schedule. It would be an embarrassing black mark on the league if a championship series between two New Brunswick clubs was forced to play some games in Nova Scotia.

I can't imagine the QMJHL allowing this type of scenario to play out. It would create nothing but a negative circus around the league's biggest showcase event.

The thought of games being played out of Halifax were quickly squashed late this afternoon by John Moore on Twitter.

They won't play a single game of the all Q NB final in Hfx. They'll play at midnight before coming to Metro Centre. Still waiting for sked.

Tickets to games one and three go on sale tomorrow at 10:00 am at the Harbour Station box office.

The first 5,000 fans attending Friday’s series-opener will receive a free white Sea Dogs President’s Cup Finals t-shirt courtesy of FibreOP from Bell Aliant (3,000 size L, 2,000 size XL – given away on a first come, first serve basis). All spectators are encouraged to wear white shirts, jerseys, etc. to Game 1 as a sign of support for the Port City’s major junior squad.

A Sea Dogs fan bus is being organized for game two in Moncton. Contact Lori Thorton at 506-650-9508 or e-mail at bustrips@live.ca for more info.

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHESNicholas Pard was scratched with a bruised foot. The 19-year old blocked a Pierre Durepos slap shot in game four on Friday.

Steven Anthony and his groin were scratched along with Kevin Gagne and his knee. Aiden Kelly and Tyrone Sock were healthy scratches.

MOVING ON UPDespite winning two-of-three of home ice, the Victoriaville Tigres ran out of gas in game six.

"We definitely capitalized on our chances early in the game and that really set the tone for us,'' Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant said to the Telegraph-Journal. "I don't think we played a real good hockey game, but it was one of those games (where) we took advantage of our chances.''

Saint John took control early and never looked back. The Sea Dogs held period leads of 3-0 and 4-0 before defeating the Tigres 7-1 on Monday night at Harbour Station, winning the series 4-2.

Scoring first proved to be a big factor in the series. Despite blowing a 2-0 lead and 1-0 lead in game one and two, the Tigres bounced back to take leads in games three and five and went on to win those. Saint John jumped out to a lead in game three and last night with both proving to be W’s for the Dogs.

"What they did well in the last couple of games (before Monday) was coming out strong in the first period,'' Mike Hoffman said. "This time they took some early penalties and we capitalized and that was the difference tonight.''

Saint John did just that in the first. The Sea Dogs blasted out to a 2-0 lead before scoring a deflating goal in the final minute of the opening frame to take complete control.

Victoriaville bounced back in the second, taking the overall shots lead half way through. Despite their efforts, the Tigres allowed another goal to fall behind 4-0 after 40 minutes.

Andrej Nestrasil gave Victo some faint hope – but it wasn’t enough. Saint John exploded for three straight goals to close out the series in fine style.

A SOLID EFFORTVictoriaville gave Saint John a run for their money, but in the end, the Tigres boat ran out of steam.

"I'm proud of the way we fought,'' Victoriaville head coach Yanick Jean said. "We had so many injuries on defence, but it was a positive experience for the team.''

The Tigres failed to advance to the league final for the first time since 2002. Victo just did not have it last night and certainly looked fatigued.

BIG NIGHT FOR THE HOFFMike Hoffman recorded a hat trick last night, scoring a goal in the first and two in the second. The 20-year also recorded another type of trick, scoring at even strength, shorthanded, and on the power play.

When Hoffman recorded his hat trick goal, only one hat and a rally towel were thrown on the ice.CALL YOUR SHOTThe woman (whose name we always forget) that does the intermission events was back to her trash talking ways last night. But instead of the worst thing possible happening, it was a positive thing.

Just prior to Hoffman scoring his first goal in the opening period, the lady said something along the lines of ‘wouldn’t it be nice if Mike Hoffman scored on Kevin Poulin.’

AWFUL CROWDIt was a Monday, and it was a nice day, but a crowd of 3,704 for game six of the semi-finals is just unacceptable.

The crowd is the third worst in Sea Dogs playoff franchise history.

SOLID IN SIXSaint John improved to 2-0 all-time in game six playoff games. There other win came in Bathurst in 2008.

CHANTING TIMEHalfway through the third period, the “We Want Moncton” chants began to make their rounds around Harbour Station. The same chants took place in game two at the Station.

We also managed to get the hash tag #WeWantMoncton trending a bit on Twitter.

As tradition would have it, the “Ole” chants began late in the third.

TWEET OF THE NIGHTThe T.O.T.N. comes from Hawkalicious, the unofficial chief of Station Nation.

I wonder how many people have redeemed their Sea Dogs ticket for a Big Mac this season, and how much they weigh vs September 09

WOOO… WAITAt 9:55 of the third and the game already out of reach for Victoriaville, Marco Cousineau came out of the net in favour of Karel St. Laurent.

Most people thought St. Laurent was simply going in to get some ice time, so Cousineau was given a standing ovation. But seven seconds later, the man they call Couzy returned with a confused Harbour Station looking on.

Marco Cousineau was his typical self in goal and made several beautiful saves. Victoriaville’s Kevin Poulin, who was reportedly battling injuries, did not fare so well and allowed seven goals on 32 shots.

The Tigres actually had the best chance early, entering the zone on a two-on-one off the opening faceoff but could not connect.

Saint John made it 1-0 at 9:16 on the power play. Following a faceoff in the Tigres’ zone, Despres found the loose puck in the slot and wired a shot past Poulin to make it 1-0.

What’s-her-name that does the intermission stuff was up her old tricks, stating over the speaker that it would nice for Hoffman to beat Poulin. Just seconds later on a two-man power play, Hoffman ripped a shot low blocker on the Tigres’ net minder to give the Dogs a 2-0 lead.

After killing off a Tomas Jurco penalty, Nicholas Petersen deflated the Tigres with a goal at 19:41. Petersen skated down the wing and let a waek shot in on Poulin from a bad angle. The puck went five hole to give Saint John a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Shortly after Huberdeau and Michael Kirkpatrick missed on a two-on-one chance, Saint John made it 4-0. Huberdeau was alone in front and riffled the puck over Poulin at 2:38 of the second.Victoriaville managed to gain some momentum following the goal but could not beat Cousineau.

In the third, Nestrasil gave the Tigres some life at 1:40. The import walked towards the Sea Dogs goal slowly before beating Cousineau over the glove with a wrist shot.

But the Dogs got the goal right back while shorthanded at 2:55. Hoffman broke up a pass at the blue line and broke loose. The 20-year old went to the backhand and slid the shot past Poulin to make it 5-1.

With Olivier Jannard in the box for Victo, Despres let a pass go from the point that found Jurco in front. The import made a tremendous tip to put the puck into the empty cage at 5:46.

The Sea Dogs put the icing on the cake at 9:55. Hoffman found a loose puck in the slot and wristed his third of the game past Poulin to make it a 7-1 final.

Fans stood on their foot and cheered on the home team as the final minute counted down.

Both teams had 32 shots on goal.

Saint John went 3/6 on the power play while Victoriaville went 0/5.

For more on last night's game, see Station Nation's Postcript, which will be up later.

Victoriaville goaltender Kevin Poulin will be a game time decision tonight in game six of their semi-final series against Saint John. The Sea Dogs lead the series 3-2 and can close it out tonight.According to a RDS report, Poulin will take warm-up tonight, with the team deciding after whether or not he can play.

The goaltender was sensational on Saturday night, single handedly keeping the Tigres alive the series. The New York Islanders draft pick stopped 43 of 45 shots in the win.

The injury happened late in the third period. Following a loose, Simon Despres and Emmanuel Boudreau battled for it in front of the Tigres’ goal. The Victoriaville net minder stretched out to grab the disc, only to have Despres and Boudreau run over him on their way by.

Poulin lay on the ice in obvious pain for several minutes. He slowly got up and began stretching his upper leg area with the team’s trainer. Despite bending over and wincing in agony, he stayed in the game.

But following the Tigres’ empty net goal at 19:37, Poulin headed off in exchange for backup Antonio Mastropietro. Poulin came out for the three stars after the game but could hardly skate and limped back to the dressing room.

PRE-GAME PREVIEWOne thing is for certain, the Saint John Sea Dogs do not want to being playing hockey on Wednesday at Harbour Station. Instead, they would much prefer to be playing against their arch rival on Friday.

The Sea Dogs can end the semi-finals tonight. A win and their hard fought series against the Victoriaville Tigres is over. A loss forces a game seven.

Saint John played very well on Saturday despite picking up a 4-2 loss at Colisee Desjardins. Kevin Poulin stood on his head for the Tigres, stopping 43 of 45 shots. But the hot goaltender was wounded in battle, and could be M.I.A. tonight.

Victoriaville hasn’t had the best of luck at Harbour Station in this series so far. The Tigres jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game one and a 1-0 lead in game two, only to have both turn into eventual losses.

Saint John will certainly try to come out of the gate hard, something that worked on Friday in game four and almost worked again on Saturday.

It must not be forgotten that home ice has been a big advantage on this series, with the home side winning four of five times.

CRAZY FACTHow rare Monday games? This is only the third Monday game in Sea Dogs regular season/playoff franchise history. Both previous games were played on the road.

SAINT JOHN LINEUP NOTESNicholas Pard missed Saturday’s game with a bruised foot. He suffered the injury Friday after taking a Pierre Durepos shot in the skate.

Kevin Gagne did not travel with the team to Victoriaville because of a knee injury. The 17-year old has not played since game five of the opening round.

Steven Anthony is questionable with a groin injury. Will Johnston has been taking his place in the lineup.

VICTORIAVILLE LINEUP NOTESKeven Dupont, the victim of the Mike Thomas hit, will likely not play because of a concussion and broken nose.

Victoriaville starting goaltender Kevin Poulin was hurt in the late stages of the third period on Saturday after Simon Despres and Emmanuel Boudreau rolled over him. The net minder stayed in the game but left following the Tigres’ empty net insurance goal.

Poulin left with some kind of leg injury and limped out for his first star honor. RDS reports that he may have suffered a knee injury.

HURTIN’ GOALIEThe loss of Kevin Poulin in the Tigres’ crease would be huge for the Tigres. The goaltender finished the regular season with a record of 35-16, a goals against average of 2.16, and save percentage of 0.916. In the playoffs, Poulin is 15-5 and has played every game of this series.

Victoriaville’s backup, Antonio Mastropietro, was 11-6 this season and has under nine minutes of playoff experience in his two year career.

HISTORY IS WITH USSaint John has played in just one other game six tilt in their franchise history. That was in 2008 in Bathurst, where Payton Liske scored 2:16 into overtime to win a wild one 5-4.

Tonight will be the first game six played at Harbour Station.

STILL LEADING THE WAYVictoriaville has the best power play and penalty kill among the three teams still alive in the playoffs. In the regular season, the Tigres finished with the league’s best penalty kill and second best power play.

Its nice to be back in SJ...would have liked to finish the series in Victoriaville..but finishing at home is gonna be SWEEEEEEET.....

WHO TO WATCHVictoriaville- Philip-Micahel DevosDevos scored a goal and an assist on Saturday to lead the Tigres to victory. Victoriaville’s regular season leading scorer has retaken the playoff point lead for the league with 24 points.

Saint John- Mike ThomasThomas has been Thomas in this series. The captain always seem to step up his game in pressure filled moments – like tonight.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Saint John is 2-0 in this series at Harbour Station and has a 6-1 home record so far on the playoffs.

Michael Kirkpatrick is second in league scoring with 23 points.

Mike Hoffman is on a six game point scoring streak. In that time, the sniper has amassed two goals and five assists.

Stanislav Galiev leads the Sea Dogs in scoring against Victoriaville in the series. He has three goals and four assists in the five games.

Pierre Durepos and Christian Morin are a team best plus-three in the series.

Yann Sauve is a team worst minus-three.

Philip-Michael Devos leads the Tigres in scoring in the series. He has three goals and five assists but is a minus-one.

THE RINKVenue: Harbour StationCapacity: 6,297Playoff Average Attendance: 4,470Reg. Season Average Attendance: 4,140

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Tickets to game six of the Saint John Sea Dogs - Victoriaville Tigres playoff series are now on sale at the Harbour Station box office and online at harbourstation.ca.

The box office is open until 5:00 pm today and opens tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.

Game time tomorrow is 7:00 pm.

Saint John will look to close out the series, leading the best-of-seven affair 3-2. If not, game seven will be held in Saint John on Wednesday. The winner will move on to play Moncton in the Presidents Cup Final.

This will be only the second game six in Sea Dogs history and the first on home ice.

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHESNicholas Pard was scratched with a bruised foot. The 19-year old blocked a Pierre Durepos slap shot in game four on Friday.

Steven Anthony and his groin were scratched along with Kevin Gagne and his knee. Aiden Kelly was a healthy scratch and Tyrone Sock did not make the trip.

FAILURE TO CLINCHThe Victoriaville Tigres lived to see another hockey game - but it certainly wasn't pretty.

The Tigres were outplayed for the most part by the Saint John Sea Dogs, who outshoot the home side 45-28. But because of goaltender Kevin Poulin, the Tigres weathered the storm and hung on for a 4-2 victory to force a game six on Monday.

Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant acknowledged the Victoriaville goaltender stood on his head in La Nouvelle/L’Union, but also continued to preach that his team must play the pull 60 minutes.

Saint John was caught napping early, falling behind 2-0 in the first period before Stanislav Galiev registered a goal in the final minute of the frame.

The Dogs took control in the second period, outshooting the Tigres 17-9. But Poulin continued his hot play, stopping all 17 shots and three power play opportunities.

Yann Sauve tied the game early in the third on a penalty shot. But just when it looked like the Sea Dogs would had momentum, Philip-Michael Devos scored just over two minutes later. They would add an empty netter and take the tilt 4-2.

ROUGH STUFFFollowing the horn, some rough stuff took place behind the Tigres’ goal. Yann Sauve, Stephen MacAulay, and Christian Morin were in the middle of it for the Sea Dogs. The tussle resulted in lots of penalties.

POULIN SOLID AND INJUREDKevin Poulin’s magnificent performance in goal was overshadowed by some late game shenanigans. Following a loose puck, Simon Despres and Emmanuel Boudreau battled for it in front of the Tigres’ goal. The Victoriaville net minder stretched out to grab the disc, only to have Despres and Boudreau run over him on their way by.

Poulin lay on the ice in obvious pain for several minutes. He slowly got up and began stretching his upper leg area with the team’s trainer. Despite bending over and wincing in agony, he stayed in the game.

But following the Tigres’ empty net goal at 19:37, Poulin headed off in exchange for backup Antonio Mastropietro. Poulin came out for the three stars after the game but could hardly skate and limped back to the dressing room.

Following the game, La Nouvelle/L’Unionsaid that Victoriaville head coach Yanick Jean would not disclose the nature of the injury. He is obviously questionable for game six.

Of course, Mike Thomas found some way to get involved in this. After Poulin’s helmet fell off just after the whistle blew, the Saint John captain threw the puck at his head.TWEET OF THE NIGHTLast night’s T.O.T.N. comes from scout rick1042:

if NYI scout here, Poulin is getting 3 yrs deal, or 15 as usual.

FLASHBACKA year ago yesterday, Gerard Gallant and Mike Kelly were both sitting in the Alpine Room of Harbour Station and being introduced to Sea Dogs fans for the first time.

A year later, the two were behind the Saint John bench in game five of the semi-finals. It is certainly an impressive accomplishment.

WHAT UP WITH THE HUB?There must have been a blue moon in Victoriaville last night, as Jonathan Huberdeau was stopped not once – but twice on a breakaway.

The rookie went 6/6 in the shootout during the regular season but has been stopped on a few breaks in the post-season.

DEVOS TAKES OVERA two point night for Victoriaville’s Philip-Michael Devos means that he know owns the playoff scoring lead with 24 points, one better then the Sea Dogs’ Michael Kirkpatrick.FINAL SALUTE?The Victoriaville faithful gave a long and loud ovation to the Tigres as they left ice for possibly the final time as a team.

There were lots of loud Saint John fans at the game once again.

HIGHLIGHTSHighlights from last night’s game can be found by clicking HERE.

QUICK HITSNo glass was broken in the making of this hockey game… last night (April 24) was the latest game in Sea Dogs franchise history… "rick1042" also said that there were quite a few scouts in the building… Marco Cousineau played a strong game despite picking up the loss… Michael Kirkpatrick and Mike Thomas were a team worst -2… Tomas Jurco was the only Saint John player with a plus rating. He was a plus-one… Olivier Jannard was hammered by Thomas in the first period and left the game. The Saint John captain did not receive a penalty… the Sea Dogs end their Victo’ road swing with a 1-2 record… in this series, the home team has won all but one game.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

VICTORIAVILLE – The party was put on hold for the Saint John Sea Dogs Saturday evening in Victoriaville.

Saint John fell 4-2 to the Tigres at Colisee Desjardins, failing to clinch a spot in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League finals. The Dogs still lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 entering game six on Monday at Harbour Station.

The story of the game was Kevin Poulin in the Tigres’ goal. The newly turned 20-year old stood on his head, stopping 43 of 45 shots that the Sea Dogs threw his way. But Poulin was also the story for another reason. Following a collision in his crease, the Victoriaville net minder clearly pulled something and could hardly skate for the remainder of the game. He did stay in, but left with 23 seconds remaining.

The Sea Dogs threw everything at the goaltender, including five power play chances that were all denied.

Joel Chouinard, Yannick Dube, Philip-Michael Devos, and Tomas Kubalik scored for the winners.Stanislav Galiev and Yann Sauve scored for Saint John. Marco Cousineau, who also played solid, made 24 saves in net for the Dogs.

Victoriaville went 0/4 on the power play.

FIRST PERIODFollowing a fast pace few minutes of back-and-forth action, the Tigres opened the scoring at 2:47. Joel Chouinard let a point shot go through traffic that found its way past Marco Cousineau in the Saint John goal to make it a 1-0 game.

Samuel Groulx took two for interference at 3:24. Saint John looked good on the power play as they desperately tried to tie the tilt. Tomas Jurco sent a cross ice pass to Michael Kirkpatrick but his shot was deflected away by Kevin Poulin.

Andrej Nestrasil looked like a man on mission moments after the penalty expired. The import made a great deke to get around Christian Morin but could not get much of a shot off on his solo rush.

Mike Thomas, fresh off a one-game suspension, hammered Olivier Jannard into the boards behind the net. Jannard lay on the ice for several minutes before leaving the game.

Victoriaville got their revenge on Thomas at 6:39. Yannick Dube tried to center the puck from behind the net but the disc hit a Saint John player in front. The puck bounced past Cousineau to make it 2-0.

Kirkpatrick got called high sticking at 8:18 but the Tigres could not get any good shots off on the P.P. When the power play expired, Cousineau made a huge cross crease pad save to keep the Dogs close in the period.

Saint John managed to get some pressure going after they failed to score on a power play opportunity. Mike Hoffman let a wrist shot go that was stopped, followed by Zach Phillips and Morin buzzing around the Tigres’ cage.

The hard work paid off for the Dogs at 19:31. Yann Sauve let a point shot go through the traffic with Poulin blocking it down in front. Stanislav Galiev was there in the crease to bang home the garbage and to get Saint John back within one after one.

Shots in the first were 15-14 Saint John.

SECOND PERIODHoffman and Galiev entered the zone on a two-on-one to start the new period. Hoffman chose to keep and shoot, with Poulin going down to make the save. Saint John then began to take over.

Simon Despres let a backhand shot go that was stopped, with the rebound just getting by the stick of Jurco with an empty net. Kirkpatrick then fed Jonathan Huberdeau who was skating hard towards the goal but tipped the puck right on Poulin.

Nicholas Petersen gave Huberdeau some redemption moments later, sending the rookie in on a break. Huberdeau went to his backhand but saw shot kept out.

Emmanuel Boudreau headed to the box at 8:09. It was all Saint John on the man advantage, with Jurco ripping a shot on Poulin, Kirkpatrick firing wide, and finally Hoffman ripping a onetime shot on goal. Poulin stood tall though, keeping his teams lead intact.

Joel Champagne went off at 9:46 after tripping Hoffman. After a time-out, Saint John went to work. Huberdeau was sprung on a break again and tried his usual move to a backhand but ran out of room. The 16-year old ran into Poulin and received a goalie interference penalty.

But while shorthanded, Danick Gauthier was sprung on a break. Gauthier went to the forehand and let loose a shot that was blockered away by Poulin. The draft eligible Sea Dog also had his rebound stopped by the pad of the Tigres’ net minder.

Will Johnston kept the Saint John offense machine rolling, going in on a partial break but ran out of room to make a move.

Chris Doyle was called for hooking at 14:49 but the Dogs could not get anything going. Following the two minute span, Saint John began to dominate the play once again, holding control of the puck for several minutes.

Just before Tomas Jurco got called for high sticking at 19:58, Brandon Hynes had a wide open net with Cousineau out of position but hit the outside of the post.

Shots in the middle stanza were 17-9 for the visitors.

THIRD PERIODYann Sauve was hooked on a breakaway just 47 seconds into the third period. The defenseman was awarded a penalty shot and beat Poulin over the blocker to tie the game 2-2.

But Victoriaville got the lead right back at 2:59. Boudreau sent a low pass from the point through traffic that found Philip-Michael Devos at the side of the net. Devos made no mistake to give Victoriaville a 3-2 lead.

Schembri got called for boarding at 6:40. On the man advantage, Chouinard was left alone in the slot but wired a wrist shot off the post. The penalized Schembri then came out of the box on a partial break but was robbed by the leather of Poulin.

Brandon Hynes then had a good chance for the Tigres, performing a nice toe-drag only to have Cousineau make the save.

Saint John quickly tried to mount a comeback. Petersen dropped for Gauthier but was denied by the blocker of the Tigres goaltender once again. Then Simon Despres pounced on a rebound in front while being hugged by Boudreau. The two glided over Poulin, forcing him into an awkward position.

Victoriaville’s training staff came out to check on Poulin, who appeared to have pulled something in his groin or high leg area. Despite wincing and bending over in pain, he stayed in the game.

The injured net minder was not challenged that much after he took back to the blue paint. Galiev had the best chance on a turnover in front but couldn’t get a shot on net.

With Cousineau out of the Saint John goal for the extra attacker, Galiev lost the puck behind the net where Tomas Kubalik picked it up and netted his fourth of the post-season. That made it a 4-2 final.

Following the goal, Antonio Mastropietro came in for Poulin in the Tigres goal.

Shots in the third were 13-5 Saint John.

After the final buzzer, Christian Morin, Stephen MacAulay, and Yann Sauvé all got penalties for Saint John following a big scrum behind the Victoriaville goal. Philip-Michaël Devos, Pierre-Luc Pelletier, and Yannick Dubé were all given penalties for the Tigres.

NOTES: Check out Station Nation tomorrow for all the information from this game.

NEXT GAME: Game six is Monday at 7:00 pm at Harbour Station.

TICKETS: Tickets to game six are available now on the Harbour Station website. The box office will be open Sunday afternoon from 12:00 to 5:00 pm.

PRE-GAME PREVIEWIt’s the biggest game in franchise history for the Saint John Sea Dogs this afternoon in Victoriaville.

Following a dominating 6-1 win last night at Colisee Desjardins, the Sea Dogs hold a 3-1 series lead and are one win away from the league final. The Moncton Wildcats advanced to the final last night following a 4-2 win in Drummondville.

Saint John dominated all aspects of the game last night. Unlike Tuesday, the Dogs got out to a quick start and never looked back. The Port City squad led the game 5-0 at one point in the third period.

Goaltender Marco Cousineau was sensational on the night, allowing Saint John to keep their momentum for most of the game.

Victoriaville should come out flying today despite the fact that this game is less than 24 hours after a crushing game four loss.

With the Tigres’ season on the line, Saint John will need to stick to their game plan to beat the Victo' storm.

Between the pipes, overage net minder Marco Cousineau has recorded a G.A.A. of 2.45 and a SV% of 0.934 versus the Tigres in the semis, picking up three victories in his four starts. The Anaheim Ducks prospect is now 11-2 with a 2.21 G.A.A. and a 0.924 SV% on the 2010 post-season.

ALL TIED UPAccording to the Sea Dogs’ official Twitter stream, Michael Kirkpatrick is tied with Scott Howes with 15 career playoff goals as a Sea Dog.

HISTORYOnly one other time have the Sea Dogs held a 3-1 series lead and clinched the series in game five. That came in this year’s first round against PEI. The other time Saint John held a 3-1 lead, the Dogs dropped game five at Harbour Station against Bathurst in 2008.

WHO TO WATCHVictoriaville- Kevin PoulinThe Tigres’ goaltender has the ability to steal games. With their season on the line today, expect a big game from the net minder.

Saint John- Nicholas PetersenPetersen has five assists in the four games of this series. He had a strong game last night with three assists and almost set up Michael Kirkpatrick for a beauty.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Last night was only the Sea Dogs’ second win at Colisee Desjardins.

Michael Kirkpatrick and Stanislav Galiev lead the Sea Dogs in series scoring with six points. Kirkpatrick has two goals and three assists while Galiev has two goals and four assists.

Mike Hoffman is on a five game point streak. In that span, the Ottawa Senators draft pick has two goals and four assists.

Galiev has a four game point streak going and has scored two goals and recorded four assists during that time. He has scored in each game of the series.

SAINT JOHN SCRATCHESSteven Anthony was out once again with a groin injury. He was replaced by Will Johnston.

Kevin Gagne missed another tilt with a knee injury and did not make the trip to Victoriaville. He was replaced by Gabriel Bourret on the backend.

Mike Thomas served his one game suspension after receiving a charging penalty in game three on Tuesday. Chuckie Schembri took his spot.

Tyrone Sock did not make the trip and Aiden Kelly was a healthy scratch.

ONE WIN AWAYThe Saint John Sea Dogs are in the drivers seat of their semi-final series following a dominating performance.

Head coach Gerard Gallant still feels that there is room for improvement entering game five tonight, though.

“We capitalized on our chances and we shot more pucks, but we still didn’t play a great game,” said Gallant to the Telegraph-Journal.

“I thought we did some good things. We put more pucks to the net and that’s the key. There were some rebound goals and our team is good when we get pucks to the net. When we try to get too cute, it’s not good.”

The Sea Dogs defeated the Victoriaville Tigres 6-1 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the best-of-seven semi-final affair.

Saint John jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period, just as the Tigres did in game three on Tuesday.

The Sea Dogs did not let up despite some furious pressure by the home team to get back into the game. Saint John scored two more times to lead 4-0 after 40 minutes.

Shortly after Nicholas Pard scored his second of the game in the third, the Tigres got on the board via a point shot on the power play. But it was too late for any kind of comeback. Chuckie Schembri added the sixth goal with less than two minutes remaining.

Victoriaville still managed to outshoot Saint John 40-33.

COUZY, COUZY, AND MORE COUZYMarco Cousineau is showing why he is so good in the playoffs.

The 20-year old veteran was magnificent in net, stopping 39 of 40 shots and earning first star honors.

“We started out real well and we had a 2-0 lead, but we gave up a lot of chances after that and Couzy stood on his head,” said Gallant of his net minder who picked up his 11th playoff win of the year.

“Marco kept us in the game,’’ said Nicholas Pard. “He played a great game. We just took advantage of our chances.”

Cousineau didn’t have to make many huge saves, but he kept the puck out of net when Victoriaville’s sticks were firing pucks at rapid fire.

HOFFMAN SHATTERS GLASS…With 12.5 seconds remaining in the first period and the Sea Dogs on the power play, Mike Hoffman ripped a point shot that grazed over Kevin Poulin in the Tigres goal. The puck nailed the back glass, shattering the sheet into pieces.

The glass did what it was designed to do though, staying in tact with the exception of the top half that tumbled forward.

The team’s headed to the dressing room after that as the glass was replaced during intermission. 11 seconds were added on to the clock to start the second. The horn blew when the brief amount of time ended, forcing the official second period faceoff to take place at center ice.… PARD SHATTERS DREAMSIt was a big night Nicholas Pard. The 19-year scored a pair of goals – including the game winner off a faceoff – last night at Colisee Desjardins.

Pard finished the night with the two goals on only three shots and had a plus-two rating.

TWEET OF THE NIGHTLast night’s Tweet of the night comes from Disastromatic, who is suffering from Toronto Maple Leafs withdrawal.

Man I wish I were more involved in the local #QMJHL scene. Woulb be better than pimping electronics on the West Side.

SCHEMBRI CAN PLAYWith Mike Thomas suspended for hurting the Tigres’ feelings, Chuckie Schembri got a chance to make an impression on the Sea Dogs brass.

He did, scoring on a breakaway late in the game to make it a 6-1 final. The 19-year old tough guy finished the night with two shots and was a plus-one.

KIRKY LEADING THE WAYMichael Kirkpatrick is rewriting the Sea Dogs playoff record this post-season.

“Michael Kirkpatrick has broken Keven Charland's team record for the fastest goal to start a playoff game; centre scored 1:51 into the first,” reports the Sea Dogs’ Twitter page.

“'Kirky' is now tied with Scott Howes for the all-time Sea Dogs franchise post-season goals record (15) as well.”

More importantly, Kirkpatrick leads the Sea Dogs – and the league - in scoring with 23 points and is tied with Jonathan Huberdeau for the most goals on the team with 10.

REPUBLIC OF DOYLEChris Doyle may have been wishing he was in jail last night. The New York Rangers draft pick was on the ice for five Sea Dogs goals, finishing the night at a minus-five. He did, however, have four shots.

SOMETHING TO GET ALL UPSET OVERRogers Sportsnet’s "HockeyCentral" showed last night’s Canadian Hockey League highlights and scores on their midnight AST broadcast. Sportsnet, who still thinks the Maritimes are British colonies, did not show or mention either of the QMJHL games from last night. The OHL and WHL were both represented.

THE WILDCATS AWAITThe Moncton Wildcats advanced to the Presidents Cup Final last night in Drummondville after a 4-2 win over the Voltigeurs. The ‘Cats won the series 4-1.

With the loss, Chris DiDomenico’s junior hockey career ended. The 20-year old Toronto Maple Leafs prospect finishes his career with 109 goals and 217 assists in 246 regular season and playoff games.

HIGHLIGHTSHighlights from last night’s game can be found by clicking HERE.

QUICK HITSThere were a ton of Sea Dogs fans sitting behind the Saint John bench… last night was the two-year anniversary of Saint John’s 2008 semi-final loss at the hands of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies… former Tigre Pierre-Luc Sleigher performed the ceremonial puck drop… Mike Hoffman wore the captain’s ‘C’ with Mike Thomas out. It was the ninth time this year he has worn the letter… Tim Roszell said during his broadcast last night that both Benjamin Lecomte and Keven Charland were at Colisee Desjardins for game three… Travis McIsaac received a major penalty and game misconduct for slew footing Stephen MacAulay in the first period… speaking of Roszell, he was uncharacteristlly upset over the Thomas suspension. The usually tame broadcaster went a small and solid rant yesterday on News 88.9/News 91.9’s “The Drive”… La Nouvelle/L’Union says that Olivier Jannard may have suffered an ankle injury last night.

Friday, April 23, 2010

VICTORIAVILLE – The Saint John Sea Dogs are one win away from the Presidents Cup Final.

The Sea Dogs blew out the Victoriaville Tigres on Friday night at Colisee Desjardins by score of 6-1. Saint John dominated the play from start to finish, scoring a goal in the first two minutes and the last.

The win comes at a pivotal for the Dogs. Following a 6-3 loss to the Tigres on Tuesday night, there was some doubt on whether or not the Sea Dogs could handle the hostile crowd. But as they showed tonight, Saint John can indeed overcome a little adversity.

Marco Cousineau was outstanding in net, stopping 39 of 40 shots and earning first star honors.

FIRST PERIODSaint John made it 1-0 quickly in the first at 1:51. Nicholas Petersen let a shot go from just above the faceoff dot to the side of Kevin Poulin. His blast hit the cross bar, deflecting and sitting in the crease for a waiting Michael Kirkpatrick.

Not long after at 5:59, the Sea Dogs opened up a 2-0 lead. Nicholas Pard found the puck off a clean faceoff win, firing the disc through the wickets of Poulin to double Saint John’s lead.

Nathan Beaulieu had a solid chance following Pard’s marker, trying a wraparound shot but was stopped by Poulin.

Samuel Groulx headed off at 7:02 for interference. On the power play, Simon Despres wired a point shot that was stopped by Poulin, followed by Stanislav Galiev being stopped down low. The Sea Dogs had good control on the man advantage but had few shots.

Chuckie Schembri went to the sin bin at 10:03. Joel Chouinard let a big shot go from the point during the two minute span but was stopped. Like Saint John, the Tigres had good control of the puck but few shots.

Olivier Jannard had a partial break moments later but a Saint John defenseman cought up to him, forcing him to simply swing a weak shot on Marco Cousineau. Travis McIsaac was then stopped twice in close, followed by the PEI native making a nice move with the puck in front of Cousineau but could not beat the sharp Sea Dogs goaltnder.

Petersen almost set up Kirkpatrick again when he sent a pass from the point to the streaking Sea Dog but had the pass broken up by Poulin.

McIsaac was handed a five minute major and game misconduct for slew footing Stephen MacAulay at 19:40, giving the Dogs a long power play. Before the period ended, Mike Hoffman wound up and released a shot that broke a pane of glass behind the Tigres’ goal.

Shots in the first were 16-8 Victoriaville.

SECOND PERIOD11 seconds were added on to start the second because of the first frame glass break.

When the second period officially began, the Sea Dogs could not manage to get anything going on their power play chance. The five-on-four ended when Simon Despres got called for tripping. The best chance for either team on the four-on-four came on a Kirkpatrick wrist shot, forcing Poulin to make a quick pad save.

Guillaume Goulet broke in moments later but Pierre Durepos made a nice play to force the Tigres right winger to lose the puck. Chris Doyle then fed Goulet at the side of the goal but he shot wide with Cousineau way out of his crease. Victoriaville’s short pressure filled spout ended with Joel Champagne firing a backhander into the glove of Cousineau.

Saint John started to gain momentum with Galiev making a nice play to find Tomas Jurco down low at the side of the goal. The Slovak had lots of time but he fanned on the shot.

Goulet headed to the box at 13:13 after he took down Jonathan Huberdeau in front of his own net. On the man advantage, Petersen did some nice work along the boards to keep the puck under Sea Dog control. The 20-year old fed his former line mate Hoffman who fired a wrist shot that beat Poulin to make it 3-0 for the visitors.

Just over three minutes later at 17:43, Galiev sucked what little life was left out of the Tigres faithful. The Russian let loose a powerful drive that stung Poulin in the chest. The puck squirted into no man’s land, where Galiev picked up his own puck and dished the disc into the net.

Victoriaville didn’t quit though. Andrej Nestrasil made a beautiful deke around several Saint John players to enter the zone. He kept the puck and tried a cross crease pass to Philippe Maillot but he could not get a shot off.

Shots in the middle stanza were 12-10 Tigres.

THIRD PERIODJust 1:54 into the third period, Stephen MacAulay sent a blind backhand pass through the Victoraiville crease. Pard was sitting at the other end, depositing his easiest goal of the season to make it 5-0.

Yann Sauve got called for high sticking at 2:17. On the power play, Emmanuel Boudreau threw the puck in on Cousineau. The puck hit something in front and beat the Saint John goaltender low. The goal went under a short review but was ruled to be legal.

The Tigres were sparked a little bit by the goal, forcing Cousineau to come out of his crease and snag the puck with his trapper moments after the goal. That momentum ended when Pier-Luc Pelletier took a roughing call at 7:10. Saint John didn’t seem to try to much on the P.P. and sat on their lead.

The pace of the game began to slow down after the power play.

Boudreau went to the box for the Tigres at 15:53. While shorthanded, Philip-Michael Devos centered for Phillip Danault who was alone in front but could not get a shot off.

With the power play over, it was an unlikely source scoring for the Sea Dogs. Schembri was fed with a breakaway pass at the blue line at 18:00. The 19-year old tough guy made a nice move to the backhand to beat Poulin upstairs and to cement a 6-1 Saint John win.

Shots in the third period were 13-12 Saint John.

NOTES:Station Nation will have Post-Game Notebook tomorrow.

NEXT GAME: The Sea Dogs can book a trip to the Presidents Cup Final tomorrow in game five at Colisee Desjardins. Note that the start time is 5:00 pm.

MOVING ON UP: The Moncton Wildcats advanced to the QMJHL Final tonight following a 4-2 win in Drummondville.